A line of students was led away from the carriage by the prefects.
As Dolly stepped out, she saw a girl with a concerned expression standing beside her.
Hermione noticed her again and asked curiously, "Who is she? Do you know her?"
Dolly naturally knew her, and even knew her name: Cho Chang, a Chinese-British witch at Hogwarts, a Ravenclaw member a year above them.
However, it was clear that this was their first meeting, so Dolly could only say, "Looks like a kind-hearted and beautiful older sister from an upper year. Let's thank her after we start school."
Hermione looked at the girl's East Asian face. Beneath her delicate features, every expression seemed to radiate kindness, yet her bright eyes held a look of surprise and admiration.
And even a hint of... worship?
Hermione felt something must be wrong with her to be able to read so many emotions in the eyes of a stranger.
Besides, is she really that pretty?
It wasn't that Hermione had never seen an East Asian person before, but she didn't have a standard of comparison for their faces.
She could only say that she wasn't bad-looking.
"Let's go, stop looking."
Hermione forcefully pulled Dolly, who was waving goodbye to the East Asian witch, her steps instinctively quickening for some reason.
Perhaps she didn't want Dolly to get into any more trouble. After all, what had just happened wasn't over yet; they still had to face punishment from the prefects.
Before long, the group finally arrived at the prefects' exclusive carriage.
Since there weren't many prefects, the carriage was empty.
Percy and Farley took two separate compartments, one for Dolly and her group of four, and the other for Malfoy and his two cronies.
"Alright, now let me ask you what exactly happened."
A moment later, Farley pushed the door open and entered, her face expressionless, even a little annoyed.
Ron opened his mouth to speak and then stopped, thinking his own brother would be the one to question them.
Farley saw through Ron's thoughts. "I could certainly let Percy question you, but are you sure you want me to question Malfoy and his friends?"
Now even Ron understood.
This switch was the best way. At least Malfoy couldn't lie or throw his weight around with Percy.
"Who wants to start? Shall we begin with the girl who dared to charge through a Fire-Making Spell?"
Farley studied Dolly carefully. "Seeing how thin and weak you are, yet you're a natural-born Gryffindor. As expected of a Muggle-born witch."
Farley's tone was unfriendly, and the expressions of the young wizards turned sour.
Dolly, however, was calm, even smiling.
Because for Slytherin students, not discriminating against Muggles was already the height of justice.
Expecting them to be nice to Gryffindor wizards was almost impossible.
The other wizards, not yet enrolled, couldn't understand this, but Dolly knew it well.
"Senior Farley, we haven't even started school yet. How do you know we'll be in Gryffindor?"
"Maybe I'll become a Slytherin, just like you. Then we'll have to trouble you to take care of us, senior."
A corner of Farley's mouth twitched, and she almost couldn't hold back a laugh.
You, a Muggle-born witch whose fists are faster than her wand, will be a Slytherin?
If that happens, I'll eat my...
"And even if I'm not, there's a good chance my little brother will be, right?"
Dolly lifted her chin and pointed at Harry.
Harry was taken aback, pointing back at himself as if to ask what was going on.
Farley turned and looked at Harry seriously for a few moments.
She already knew his identity. The Boy-Who-Lived, whose parents were both outstanding wizards.
Although his mother wasn't from a pure-blood family, considering Harry's background and fame, there was a high probability he would indeed be a Slytherin.
Now Farley couldn't be as harsh as before. She cleared her throat and said, "In any case, first tell me what happened."
"As for how to deal with you, we can wait until we get to the school."
"I... I'll tell you."
Neville finally spoke up again. Although he appeared timid, once responsibility fell on him, Neville never shirked it.
So Neville began his story, from looking for his toad, to Harry's conflict with Malfoy, and finally to Dolly's angry punch after Malfoy's "Mudblood" comment.
At first, Farley's expression was calm, but when she heard the word "Mudblood," her expression also turned ugly.
Although she was not from a Muggle family, she wasn't a pure-blood either.
This meant that she could also be considered a "Mudblood," it's just that no one would use that word to curse her, a prefect.
Of course, that was just on the surface.
Behind her back, would her rivals really not?
At this point, Farley's attitude completely softened.
In terms of cause and effect, Malfoy's "Mudblood" comment was definitely the main reason.
Compared to that, Dolly's fists were nothing. After all, with a few spells, Malfoy's trio was physically fine.
What about mental damage, you ask?
Hogwarts, with its medieval teaching philosophy, couldn't possibly care about such things.
"I know what happened. Since you haven't been enrolled yet, even we don't know how to deal with you."
"From now on, you are not to leave this place until we arrive at Hogwarts. Then we will report this matter to the professors."
"You can just wait here."
With that, Farley left, even casting a Silencing Charm on the door to prevent them from hearing any outside noise.
Farley's warning made Ron and Neville's faces turn pale.
Ron even said in a breaking voice, "They're not going to expel us, are they? You don't know, Malfoy's father is a school governor!"
Hearing this, Neville almost burst into tears. "My gran will kill me!"
Even Harry was at a loss and looked to his sister for help.
Dolly reached out towards Harry. Harry subconsciously extended his head, only to be knocked firmly by Dolly.
"Scared now? When you were sticking up for Neville earlier, I didn't see you scared."
Harry was speechless from Dolly's scolding. "I'm sorry, sister. I won't cause trouble for you in the future."
However, Dolly's next words surprised Harry again.
"No, when you need to act, you should. But you must remember, acting without confidence will only get you hurt or even killed, and make your friends sad."
"You must act only when you are confident. Understand?"
Dolly was from the modern era. She couldn't possibly teach Harry to swallow his anger in the face of bullying.
"Then what about you?" Hermione said impolitely. "Was charging at Malfoy's fire spell with confidence?"
"You've just recovered from a serious illness, you don't even weigh eighty pounds! How dare you attack those two guys!"
Dolly's confidence waned. She was about to defend herself but suddenly thought of something.
She turned to face Hermione and said softly, "I didn't really care when they insulted me. But that word, 'Mudblood,' it insulted you too."
"How could I let you be insulted?"